Version: Framed Heart Button Art

It's not too early to start working on Valentine's Day projects is it?!?  If it is, oh well!! I went ahead and did it anyway!! hehehe

In this post, I'll show you how I made this Framed Heart Button Art!!  Pretty nifty, huh?!?

When using another blog's tutorial, I always want to take a moment to tell you about that blog and the original tutorial. I just think that's the right thing to do, don't you?

Today's project was created by following the 

Button Ghost and Pumpkin tutorial over at A Pumpkin and a Princess.

Crystal is super creative and does a great job with her blog, A Pumpkin and a Princess!!  Her blog is packed full of crafty tutorials, delicious recipes, decorating ideas, storage & organizational tips, and much more!!  You gotta see this blog!!

When I found the Button Ghost and Pumpkin tutorial at A Pumpkin and a Princess, I knew I had to give it a try!!  Here's what Crystal's button art looked like...

I'd never made button art before, but Crystal made it look so easy!!  Since Halloween was long gone, I decided to use a heart as my button art image.  I also decided to decorate my frame a bit!!  Here's the tutorial for my version...

SUPPLIES

$1 Wooden frame

Old book pages & sheet music

Acrylic craft paint

Burlap

Cardstock (matches burlap)

Various sized buttons

Glue

Decoupage medium

Paint brush

Step 1: PREP FRAME

Remove the frame backing, glass, and anything else that came inside. You can get rid of the glass, but keep the backing.

Step 2: COVER FRAME

Cover Frame: Decoupage torn pieces of old book pages onto the frame, covering the entire front side and overlapping onto the inside and outside edges.

Note: You do not need to completely cover the inside and outside edges of the frame because you'll be painting over them shortly.

Add Accents: Add torn strips of sheet music to accent the frame.

Step 3: PAINT FRAME EDGES

Paint the inside and outside edges of the frame with two coats of acrylic craft paint.

Step 4: PREP BACKGROUND MATERIALS

Trace & Cut: Trace the frame's backing onto your burlap and a coordinating sheet of cardstock.  Cut them out. 

Glue Together: Glue the burlap onto the cardstock, making sure to line up your edges.

Place in Frame: Put the burlap/cardstock sheet in the frame with the burlap side facing out and replace the frame's backing.

Step 5: TRACE SHAPE

Trace your desired shape onto the burlap using a pencil.

Note: Make sure you choose an image that is very basic!  Choosing a complex image will be hard to make out when it's covered in buttons.

Step 6: ADD BUTTONS

Before gluing any buttons down, you will want to plan them in advance.

Place 5-8 buttons onto your shape, making sure there are no large gaps in the image.

Once you have figured out where they're going to go, glue them in place.

Cover your entire shape with buttons.

FINISHED!!

Real quick, I want to show you the first image I tried turning into button art.

This was supposed to be two hearts side by side, but ended up looking like an upside-down bikini top!!  Since it was so hard to see, I decided to re-do it as just the one heart.  So when I said, "Choosing a complex image will be hard to make out when it's covered in buttons.", I knew what I was talking about!!

Anyway, I hope you like this tutorial!!  Be sure to look at the original tutorial,  Button Ghost and Pumpkin tutorial, over at A Pumpkin and a Princess!!  There are a few differences in our tutorials, not to mention Crystal's blog just rocks and you need to check it out!!

Thanks for reading!! Until next time...